N.M. Nuke Dump Disaster Could Poison Entire Region

• Last month, radioactive waste bubbled up from below the earth in a nuclear dump in New Mexico. No one has figured out the root cause or what can be done about it.

By Victor Thorn —

On Valentine’s Day, 26 miles east of Carlsbad,New Mexico, plutonium and americiumleaked from a nuclear dump operated bythe Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). These materials, spewing up from 2,000 feet belowthe surface of a salt bed, made their way above ground to trigger a radiation alert. Along with 13 employeesbeing exposed to airborne contaminants, significantamounts of these toxins were detected a half mile away.

Opened only 15 years ago in 1999, WIPP runsAmerica’s first deep underground nuclear facility.This plant’s safety was first compromised on February 14, yet officials haven’t mined underground to determineif the source of this leak is contained.

When questioned about this potentially disastroussituation, Hancock stated: “A month after thefact, we still don’t know what happened because no humans or robots have been underground. Radiationleaks could still be occurring. On top ofthat, the amount of radioactivity released into theatmosphere may be unknowable forever.”

As to the injured workers, Hancock explained:“You can’t see, feel or touch plutonium, and youdon’t know when it’s been involuntarily breathed. What we are certain of is that plutonium andamericium are very dangerous and typically causefatal lung cancer when inhaled. Yet, if you believethe Department of Energy, these employees faceno health risks whatsoever.”

Hancock described the magnitude of this problem. “There are 170,000 total containers buried at this site, with many holding contaminated plutonium waste from making nuclear bombs,” he said. “Moreover, during the past three years, outside waste has been brought to WIPP after the dumps at Yucca Mountain [Nuclear Waste Repository] were closed. The release of radioactive material wasn’t supposed to happen for 15,000 years, yet WIPP had its first catastrophe in 15 years.”

It seems other areas of the state aren’t immune,either. On March 6 this reporter contacted Dave McCoy, executivedirector of Citizen Action New Mexico.

McCoy added: “There are 26 sites at Sandia and Kirtland, with four dumps between 50-60 acres in size, and no one even knows what’s there. It’s not monitored or studied. Besides, I haven’t even told you about the 24 million-gallon jet fuel spill that was the largest of its kind in history.”

But that’s not all, added McCoy.

“Los Alamos [National Laboratory] possesses 63 acres, or 21 millioncubic feet, of radioactive waste and toxic chemicals,”he said. “The city of Albuquerque has 92 municipal wells, and over 50% of them havearsenic levels above what is acceptable.”

Turning his attention to WIPP, McCoy noted: “Wehave a $6 billion facility, and the public was told thatradioactive waste was being safely stored there. Butthen it burped plutonium and americium that coulddrain into Albuquerque’s drinking water. If thatdoesn’t already scare people, WIPP wanted to accept more radioactive waste from Los Alamos andIdaho. It’s like we have a target on our backs.”

Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 40 books.